


ICE - In Case of Emergency

by dont_hate_me01



Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: Hurt Jared Padalecki, Hurt Jensen Ackles, Hurt/Comfort, Language, M/M, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-21
Updated: 2014-01-21
Packaged: 2018-01-09 13:13:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 22,308
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1146417
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dont_hate_me01/pseuds/dont_hate_me01
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Between Jensen being a paramedic and Jared a firefighter, life is never dull.  Smoke inhalation and broken bones are just two of the things the pair has to deal with.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

[ ](http://s792.photobucket.com/user/Dont_hate_me01/media/e4e377dc-c94d-484f-afa7-74521b6ae15e_zps1adeaf43.png.html)

**Prologue: Halloween 1987**

"I can't believe he's wearing the same costume as last year, he's such a baby." Danneel sniped and rolled her eyes as they stopped at the Padalecki house to pick up Jared for their trick or treat adventure around the neighborhood.

Jensen looked over his shoulder to the eight year old girl standing behind him. She was one of his good friends, but he hated it when she talked bad about Jared. Jared was his best friend in the whole wide world. "What's wrong with it? You know he wants to become a firefighter when he grows up."

Danneel placed her one hand on her hip and flicked her hair backwards with the other. "It's sooo boring." She sighed. "I mean, it's like dressing up like a ghost every year, just wearing a white sheet with two holes in it."

"Well, back off. He's my friend and if he wants to dress up in the same costume every year until he's fifteen and old, then that’s what he wants." Jensen snapped at her and walked up to the door to get his friend. Although he was four years older than Jared, he loved spending time with the little guy and he wouldn't exchange it for anything else in the world.

Jensen smiled as Jared bounced towards him. The five year old was always filled with so much energy, never still for one moment, even during sleepovers he always managed to end up at the bottom end of the bed, or sometimes even on the floor. "Hey, Jared." He greeted his friend with an excited grin.

"Hello, Jensen." Jared smiled from ear to ear; already he held out his little bucket and showed Jensen the few pieces of candy his mom gave him to start off on his Halloween adventure. "You want one? I know they're your favorite."

Jensen took one of the pieces of candy and placed it in his own container. "Thanks." He smiled and then took the youngster's hand. "Come on, let's go. We've got lots of houses to go to."

Jared giggled and walked beside Jensen. "I like your costume."

Jensen looked down at himself. He was wearing a formal shirt with a tie and had a badge pinned to his shirt. "Thanks, I want to be a Marshall when I grow up."

Jared's eyes grew huge. "You'll be the best. But if there's a fire, I'll come and rescue you."

It was Jensen's turn to laugh. "I know you will, buddy." The two boys looked at one another for a moment and then they ran off to join their friends for a night of fun. Jensen even made sure that Danneel had fun as he'd already forgiven her for being a bit nasty about Jared's costume.

They moved through the neighborhood, knocking on each door, claiming their treats and yelling thank yous as they moved around the neighborhood. At one stage Jensen realized that his friend was no longer next to him. He turned around to look for him and smiled as he saw the boy yawning hard and shuffling behind him. "Are you getting tired, buddy?" He called out and started to walk back towards Jared.

Jared looked up as he heard his friend's voice and between that and yawning he didn't see the tree root snaking over the side walk and he stumbled forward. He gasped and tried to stop himself from falling, but with being tired, having on a heavy coat on and a bucket full of candy did not help at all and within seconds he was sprawled out on the hard ground.

"Jared!" Jensen yelled as he saw Jared trip and he tried to run faster to catch the falling pre-scholar, but he was just too far away and saw the moment Jared crashed to the ground. "Jared," he called out again as he crouched next to his friend and tried to help him up. "Are you all right, did you get hurt?" He managed to pull the small boy to his feet and started to dust him off. He was aware that Jared was deadly quiet and he looked up to see the tears streaming down Jared's small face. "I'm sorry, don't cry." Jensen hugged Jared close.

"Jensen," Jared cried and wrapped himself around his best friend's middle. "It hurts." He sniffled hard and moaned when Jensen tried to pull him off.

"Where are you hurting, buddy? Let me see?" Jensen helped Jared to sit down on the side walk and flinched as he saw the hole in Jared's trousers and some blood oozing through. He turned Jared's hands around and winched as he saw that they were scuffed pretty hard as well. "Ouch, I think we need to go home and get this cleaned up." He wiped the tears from Jared's face as the younger boy kept on crying. "I'll carry you." Jensen picked Jared up; made sure he was all right and walked back home. Luckily they were near his home so he didn't have a long way to carry Jared.

Jared had his arms around Jensen's neck, his legs crossed around the older boy's waist and he held on tight. It hurt, but being with Jensen made it better already. He sniffed as he heard Jensen calling out to his mom and cried harder as Jensen's mother tried to take him from Jensen, he didn't want to let Jensen go.

"I've got him, mom." Jensen carried Jared to the bathroom and managed to place him on the counter. "We need to clean you up." Having a father that was a paramedic made it easy for Jensen to know what to do. Already he pulled out the first aid kit that was stashed in the room and opened it up. "I'll start with your hands." Jensen took Jared's one hand and gently cleaned it before putting on some antibiotic cream and closing it up with a band aid. "You're very brave." He praised Jared as the boy only hiccupped once or twice as he cleaned him up. He looked at Jared's ruined pants. "We need to get this off; do you want me to help you?"

Jared nodded and with Jensen's help he got off the counter and they lowered his trousers. He was glad that Jensen didn't make him get on the counter again, but this time he sat on the edge of the bathtub while Jensen cleaned his knees. He hissed and pulled away sharply as Jensen touched a part of his knee that really hurt.

"Sorry, buddy. I didn't mean to hurt you." Jensen took Jared's leg gently and wiped it clean carefully.

"It's okay." Jared tried to be brave and managed to sit still as Jensen cleaned his scraped knees. He smiled as Jensen gave him band aids with cartoon characters on it, it made him feel better. "You must become an ETM. They always help people."

Jensen frowned and then smiled. "You mean an EMT, buddy? Emergency Medical Technician. Why not a doctor?"

Jared shrugged. "Doctors are not nice. I think EMTs' are nice. You'll be the best EMT ever." He smiled before he hugged Jensen hard. "That's what we'll be when we're big. You'll be an EMT and I will be a firefighter. What do you say, Jensen?"

"Sounds like a good plan to me, Jared. We'll both help people and be heroes." Jensen laughed as Jared giggled and he hugged his friend back. It looked like their futures were sorted out, one firefighter and one EMT in the making.


	2. ICE - In Case of Emergency

**Part 1**

**Dallas, Texas - 20 Years Later**

Jensen sighed as he closed the ambulance door and headed to the driver's side. It had been a bad call out and he wouldn't have minded going to the apartment and just forgetting about the fact that the four year old girl who fell into the pool was now on a gurney on the way to the morgue. He could still hear the heart wrenching sobs of both the parents in his ears as he started the van's engine.

"You all right, Jen?" Christian Kane asked his friend as Jensen sighed once again.  
Jensen started to nod his head, but then stopped. "Will it ever get any easier?"

"It's not supposed to become easier, Jen. If the day comes that you no longer feel any emotion about what we do, that's the day you need to change jobs."

"I hear you, Chris, I do. But with call outs like these, it makes my heart ache really bad." Jensen looked at Chris for a moment before turning his eyes back on to the road. He sighed again, he couldn't wait to get off duty and go home to relax, luckily his shift ended in less than two hours. He wanted to hug his boyfriend close and sleep for six days straight - the first impossible, the second highly unlikely.

"Jay on duty?" Christian asked as he pulled out his phone and started to text.

"Yip, he shift starts when we knock off. Why?"

"Myself and Steve have a gig tomorrow night, thought it would be good for you guys to come. Everyone will be there." Chris grinned.

Jensen rolled his eyes. "I know he's on half shift tomorrow, so I'll check with Jay, but we'll most likely show up for an hour or two."

"An hour or two?" Chris snorted. "You do know that the two of you have been in a relationship forever, there's no need for you to be in one another's company twenty four-seven."

Jensen shook his head. "We're tired. We've been on the conflicting schedules for the past six months, if it wasn't for things like white boards and postage notes, we wouldn't be able to communicate with one another at all."

"Never heard of cell phones?" Chris waved his in the air.

"You know both of us despise those things; we only use it for..."

"Yeah, yeah, I know, for in case of an emergency." Chris interrupted and at the same time slapped Jensen on the arm. "I would say that the fact that you've not seen your boyfriend for more than seventy two hours, counts as an emergency."

Jensen remained quiet. He didn't want to explain that the notes they left one another was more about what was on them, it was personal, and in a way - intimate. Both of them could see in what kind of mood the other one was when the note was written, for them it was a special way to communicate. "Where's the gig?" He tried to get Christian off the topic of their notes and back onto their gig.

"The usual place. You know Danneel will kill us if we tried to perform at any other place."

Jensen barked out a laugh. "You're still afraid of her," he shook his head. "After all these years."

"No, I'm not." Chris shook his head, but didn't meet Jensen's gaze. When Jensen laughed again he dragged his hands through his hair. "You're the only one who's always been on her good side; I mean she was a real terror when we were younger. She packed a mean punch."

"That's because you cut her hair off at camp. If it was me, I would've killed you." Jensen smiled as he remembered the camp. They were about eleven years old, and Chris, Steve and Chad had decided to play a prank on Danneel and cut her hair, but what they didn't think about was Danneel's reaction. Not only did she punch all of them hard, but she got payback and laced all of their shampoo with Nair. It was a good comeback for the only girl in their friendship ring.

"She got payback, but I swear her eyes get all dark if she looks at me." Christian smiled. "And that's why we all love her; she's one hell of a girl."

"That, and the fact that she owns the best bar in the world." Jensen smiled. Almost all of the city's firefighters, EMT's and police officers frequented the Firewater bar. Some people labeled it as a cop bar, but there were always more firefighters around than cops.

"So, will we see you?" Christian asked again.

"Yes, I don't want to get on Danneel's bad side, we'll be there." Jensen turned into the parking garage and switched the engine off. "If you write us up, I'll do inventory."

Christian cocked his head in thought. They went out on five calls in a row, to mark down everything they used and to stock the van again would take a lot longer than doing reports. It sounded to him like a fair trade. "Deal," he slipped out of the van, took his jacket and walked off to do just that.

Jensen sighed in relief. He needed the time to think and clear his head; he didn't want to think about that last call. Taking inventory would make him concentrate and forget about that small lifeless body for a while. He'd deal with the nightmares that he knew would haunt him later.

[ ](http://s792.photobucket.com/user/Dont_hate_me01/media/ICE3_zps90c3834e.png.html)

  
Jared pulled the apartment door shut behind him and headed for the stairs. He took them at a run, his long legs skipping two steps at a time, getting to the ground floor in record time. He grinned and waved as he saw Tom leaning against his car. They always carpooled together and this week it was Tom's turn to drive. "Sorry, I didn't mean to make you wait."

"You always apologize, and we're never late." Tom shook his head and got into the car.  
"I think that's because of the way you drive, no other reason." Jared responded as Tom started the car and drove off.

"What's wrong with my driving?" Tom asked in mocked shock.

Jared shrugged. "Nothing much, other than this is not a rescue engine, you're driving is fine." He held on to the sissy bar as Tom rounded a corner. It was a necessity, unless he wanted to land in Tom's lap, even though he was buckled in.

Tom laughed. "I need to stay in shape", but at the same time he removed his foot from the gas. It would not help to get into an accident on their way to work.

"Trust me, you don't need more practice." Jared huffed and sighed as they came to a halt in front of their fire house. "Safe." He grinned and got out. "Love the feel of the ground under my feet." He laughed again, as Tom flipped him off. He looked at the sky, it was just turning to pink and orange, the last of this day's light slowly disappearing and everything was peaceful. He could only hope that his shift would work out like that.

[ ](http://s792.photobucket.com/user/Dont_hate_me01/media/ICE2_zpsc78779ed.png.html)

  
If it wasn't for the fact that he was busy searching for possible trapped victims, Jared would've kicked himself. He should've known better than to hope for a peaceful shift. He'd jinxed everything! They were in a three story apartment complex; a kitchen fire that got out of control was raging through the whole second floor. They were moving from apartment to apartment, making sure that everyone was evacuated out of the building. Jared knocked on a large door before using his shoulder to barge in. "Fire department, anyone in here?" His voice sounded rough through his mask. He kept low to the floor as the smoke hung thick in the air. He kept his head tilted to make sure he picked up on any sound as he made his way through the apartment. Jared was aware of Tom behind him and both men halted when a feint sound reached their ears.

"Fire department, call out if you can hear me." Jared called out again and at the same time he made his way towards the direction from where he heard the noise.

"What the fuck?" Tom's voice sounded in his ear through their comms system. "It sounded like a kid."

Tom's words made Jared grow cold with fear and he pushed forward. He heard the sound again; it was indeed a baby, the little wails getting fainter. Jared opened the last door and looked around. It was clearly a nursery, the stuffed toys decorating the floor, borders of flowers and butterflies divided the wall into a baby soft green and light blue. "Fuck," his voice sounded strange to his ears as he saw the body on the floor. It was of a young woman and she was not moving. Jared crouched over her to feel for a pulse. His hands shook and he knew that with the adrenaline rushing through his body, he had to calm himself down otherwise it was quite possible for him to miss a weak pulse. Feeling nothing through his thick gloves, he pulled one off and shuddered as the heat inside of the room touched his skin. Once again he checked for a pulse and prayed silently to find one. Jared sighed when he felt the pulse flutter against his finger point. "She's alive, barely. We need to get her out of here."

Jared turned around and looked for Tom. His partner was busy trashing the room. He listened and then understood why Tom was acting so franticly. The baby had gone quiet; they could no longer hear any sounds from it. "Fuck," he swore again and started helping Tom in the search. He could hear his captain's voice in his ear and an order being barked out to get their asses out of there, but he couldn't. They had to save the baby. Jared moved towards the large built-in cupboard and opened it op. "Tom!" He crouched down and grabbed at the tiny foot he saw sticking out from underneath a pile of clothes. This time he didn't hesitate but removed his helmet and mask from his face as he felt for a pulse. The baby wasn't breathing and his training kicked in. He immediately started with rescue breathing as he kept the small child flat over his arm, the little head resting in the palm of his hand. "We need to get them out of here," Jared shouted as he continued with the breathing and headed towards the bedroom door.

Tom nodded once. He managed to lift the woman over his shoulder and frowned. She weighed far less than what he thought she would. "We're coming out, boss." Tom made sure he had Jared's helmet with him as they excited the room and then the apartment. He could hear Jared's voice behind him. The younger man was talking to the baby, telling him to hang in there. He knew when Jared's voice stilled that he was breathing for the kid again. "Watch out," Tom screamed as a beam engulfed in flames crashed down just in front of them. "We need to turn back," Tom turned around as he saw that their escape route was cut off.

"Cap, we need a ladder." Tom started to explain where they were located as he headed back into the apartment. He had to place the woman down on the floor as he tried to open the window. "What the fuck?" He took a look at the windows and cursed again. They were all glued shut. "What the hell is going on here?" He turned his head away and jammed his elbow through the window, glad that Jared had closed the door behind them so that no back draft developed. He cleaned the glass from the window pane and stuck his head out. "Up here." He indicated to the ladder team where they were and ducked back in again as they acknowledge his presence.

"Jared?" He looked for his partner and saw him on the side of the room busy giving CPR to the baby.

"Can't find a pulse." Jared breathed in the little one's mouth again and then started with the required thirty compressions on the small chest.

Tom moved towards Jared. "The ladder is here, let's go." As he moved another step forward both men head an inhuman groan and even as the sound quieted down a beam crashed through the ceiling and Tom had to jump out of the way.

"JARED!!!" Tom yelled. He had to bring his hand over his face as the soaring temperature slammed into him. He could feel the waves of heat through all of his protective gear. He tried to move closer, but the beam lay across the door, making it impossible for him to get to Jared, but more importantly, making it impossible for Jared to get through the door and out of the apartment.

"GO!" Jared yelled. "Get out of here. I'll get out." He already started to look at the other windows and groaned. The space between the two buildings was too narrow, the ladder truck would not be able to fit in there, he'd have to get another way out. He coughed hard, and wished he had his mask and helmet. The smoke was getting thicker. He mentally counted down the thirty chest compressions as he moved with the baby in his arms, before he did the two rescue breaths and then searched for a pulse again. He sighed as he felt the fluttering movement under his finger and he started to smile as the baby took a swallow breath. "I got a pulse, and he's breathing!" He turned and smiled at Tom. "Get out of here; I didn't get him to breathe again just to let him die in this place."

Tom wanted to argue, but he knew Jared was right. He picked up the woman and handed her through the broken window and followed after. Even as he descended he started to explain what the problem was. When his feet touched the ground he ran around the building and searched for the window which he knew Jared and the baby were at. Jared had already punched the window out and his head was stuck of the window.

"Get a ladder across!" Jared indicated to the next door building and the window directly across from where he was.

Tom nodded and turned to race to the truck as their captain barked out orders.

Jared coughed. He held the baby close to his chest. The little guy was wheezing and Jared knew his lungs had to be filled with smoke. The baby's eyes closed and Jared rubbed hard over his chest, "don't close your eyes little man, stay with me." The baby made a soft sound, and then Jared's blood turned to ice as the little guy stopped breathing. "No, no. Don't do this." His hand shook again as he searched for a pulse and he cursed when he found none. "Not again, please not again." He placed the baby on the floor right underneath the window and started with CPR again. He was aware of the flames right behind him, but there was nothing he could do about that. He had only one job to do and that was to get this baby out of here, alive.

"Jared!" Tom yelled as he opened the window across from his friend. "JARED!" He yelled again, as Jared didn't answer his first call. He was about to call for a third time when Jared's head popped up. "What the fuck?"

"He stopped breathing again." Jared took a breath and coughed hard. His nostrils were singed and he could feel how his lungs burned. "We need to get him out of here."

Tom nodded his head and stepped to the side as the ladder got pushed through. "Place him on the back board and get out of there."

Jared grabbed hold of the ladder's rails and pulled the ladder across so that it formed a bridge between the two buildings. He used the pulley system rigged to the ladder to pull the small backboard and oxygen canister across. He placed the small mask over the baby's face and secured him to the backboard. Once again he'd managed to get a pulse and the baby was taking shallow breaths on its own. He had no idea how long it would last though. He indicated to the crew on the other side to pull when a crash behind him made him look around. The entire bedroom was engulfed in flames and he knew that if he wanted to make it out alive he had to do it now. "Coming over!" He shouted as he got onto the ladder and slowly started to make his way across. He kept his hand on the baby's chest, wanting to make sure he could feel the baby breathing. Jared could feel the heat on the bottom of his feet through his fire proof boots, and as the fire took a breath, Jared knew it was going to blow and he launched himself forward, pushing the baby with the backboard into the apartment and as the flames shot out of the window and the ladder came loose, Jared stretched out and held on as strong hands grabbed him around his arms and pulled him to safety.

Even before he could get to his feet properly, he reached for the baby. He knew with one look that the boy had once again stopped breathing. He growled as someone tried to take the baby from him. He had no idea how he got out of the building, but when the night light brushed against his skin and he felt the cool air he knew he was outside. His eyes teared up, his lungs burned even more and he knew that should he start talking he would cough hard, but he had no choice. He pushed pass the arms that wanted to take the child from him and moved towards the ambulance. "He's not breathing." He gasped the words out and placed the small body on the gurney, his one hand still pressing down with the necessary compressions.

"Jared, they've got him, you can let go." Jared could hear the voice, but his body refused to cooperate with the order. "Jared!" Someone pulled on his arm and he growled. He looked up and then gasped as he saw Chad's face before him.

"They've got him, buddy. You can let go."

Jared looked around and saw the concerned looks of his co-workers around him. He nodded and slowly released the hold he had on the baby. He felt Chad pulling at him again and didn't even resist as he was pulled out of the ambulance. He could see they were working frantically on the baby before the doors where shut closed and the ambulance pulled away, sirens howling loud.

"You all right, Jay?" Chad spoke up next to him, as the second ambulance pulled away, the young woman still alive - although only barely. Tom stood in silence next to them.

Jared looked at his friend, dragged his hand across his face and looked at his blackened palm. He nodded once and then started to cough. His whole body quivered as the coughs raked through him. Normally it wouldn't have been this bad, but he'd suffered from a bout of flu which had settled in his chest a few weeks back that was only now only beginning to clear up properly. The smoke he inhaled, together with the intense heat didn't make breathing any easier.

"Easy," Chad and Tom helped him to sit down and Chad pushed an oxygen mask over his face. "Deep breaths." The medic held the mask until Jared's body relaxed and he managed to take some deep breaths. "Keep it on." He scowled lightly when Jared tried to push the mask away. "I so don't want Jensen kicking my ass, so keep it on." He stayed with Jared, keeping an eye on his friend's breathing, taking note of his pulse that was clearly visible on the side of his neck. He relaxed when it slowed down and then grabbed the blanket that someone passed to him the moment Jared started to shiver. "The adrenaline's finally leaving your system."

"Shit," Jared said through the mask and then lowered his head onto his arms. It felt to him as if he ran at least two marathons in record time, back to back.

"You with me?" Chad lifted Jared's head and looked at his eyes. He must've been satisfied with what he saw as he let go of Jared's head. "Captain says the two of you can go home." He looked at Tom and smiled as his friend rolled his eyes and indicated to Jared.

Jared was shaking his head. "No, I'm not going home. We're already a man short, we can't go off." He wheezed hard.

Tom frowned at the sound, but stood up and helped Jared up as he saw the younger man tried to get to his feet.

Chad's head snapped back as he heard Jared wheeze. He had been a paramedic long enough to know that that sound didn't mean anything good. He hated to deal with Jared; he was one freaking stubborn ass. The only one who could deal with Jared when he was like that was Jensen. On the one hand he understood why partners could not work at the same station, but on days like these, he hated that rule. He was about to pull Jared down to the ground again, when Jared frowned and he swayed on his feet.

Jared knew he had breathed in too much of that smoke and that he would keel over the minute he had to run, but he didn't want to go home. He could see the sun rising over the horizon and knew that he only had to hold out another six hours.

"You're an ass, a stubborn ass." Chad hissed as he placed the mask over Jared's face again. He looked up and saw the concern in Tom's eyes as he reached for the stethoscope in the bag. "You ready to carry him to the van if needed?"

Tom nodded. They all knew how stubborn Jared could be, how totally terrified he was of hospitals, but he would not hesitate to pin Jared down, strap him in and haul his ass over to the hospital if that was needed.

"No, no." Jared tried to get rid of the mask. He heard Chad talking to Tom and he knew they would want to get him to the hospital. He hated hospitals and would fight them with all that he had in him to avoid going there.

Tom gripped Jared hard as his friend started to fight against him. "Shit, Jared, take it easy." He tried to calm Jared down, but his friend was set on getting away.

"Chad, do something." Tom pleaded as Jared started to cough again. His eyes widened as little speckles of blood decorated the inside of Jared's mask.

Chad saw the blood and his mind started running through all the possible scenarios for what could be the cause of it. "We need to get him to a hospital." He looked up and shouted hard. "Need some help here!" He looked down at Jared; his friend was still struggling, but also still coughing. "You need to calm down." He pressed the stethoscope against Jared's chest and winched at the sound emanating from Jared's chest. "You're so going to the hospital."

Jared shook his head, and once again tried to get away. He tried to growl as more hands touched him, but he only managed to cough again. He could hear both Tom and Chad trying to get him to calm down, but he didn't want to. He didn't want to go to the hospital. "Jensen!" He called out as several pairs of hands lifted him up and placed him on a gurney where he was strapped down. He started to panic as he couldn't breathe, but then the head side was raised and he could feel himself breathing again.

Chad placed his hands around Jared's head and managed to get Jared to look at him. "You need to calm down, you've inhaled more smoke than what's good for you and you need to be checked out. I know you don't like hospitals, but it's the only way."

"Please, no." Jared shook his head as they gurney was pushed to the ambulance. "Don't want to go, please." He strained against the straps that held him down.

Chad got into the back of the ambulance and as Tom closed the doors shut behind them, Chad moved to Jared's side again. "Jared, you really need to stop struggling. You're going to hurt yourself." He looked at Tom. "Get him to calm down, I want to get an IV into him."

Tom moved closer, but stayed out of Chad's way, giving their friend enough space to still do his work. "Jared, let them check you out and then they'll send you home. Please."

Jared shook his head. He was aware of the fact that Chad was cleaning the back of his hand to insert a port, but even as he tried to jerk away, Tom's hand found his and held him still.

"Easy, Jared. It's just for some fluids. You know how everyone gets dehydrated after such a fire; it's just to help you with that." Chad also knew it was for more than that. Jared might have begun to calm down, but he knew Jared could go ballistic again at any time once they reached the hospital. He would not hesitate to sedate him then. He was happy to see that Jared was no longer coughing up blood. It was in all likelihood caused by a raw throat, or Jared might even have bitten himself on the inside of his cheek when he struggled with them the first time. He checked Jared's blood pressure and although it was elevated, it was not of great concern if you took into consideration what Jared went through in the building and also the way he was struggling against everything.

Jared was tired of fighting, his body was starting to ache and his chest burned hard. "Please," he tried again.

"It's going to be all right. I promise you." Chad soothed Jared and looked on as Jared started to take deeper breaths of the oxygen. "We're still about five minutes out, just take it easy." He sat down next to Jared and placed his hand over Jared's forearm. Tom's hand was still curled around Jared's as well.

"Is he going to be all right?" Tom asked as Jared's eyes fluttered closed.

"They need to take a proper look at his lungs, but I think with Jensen at his side and a little bit of TLC he's going to be fine." Chad replied and then added as Tom opened his mouth to speak again. "You want to know about the blood?" He continued when Tom nodded his head. "Most likely a very raw throat after all that heat, or he might have bitten himself. They will check it out. If it was serious, we would've seen more of it."

"Good." Tom dragged his hand over his face. "I need to call Jensen."

Chad pulled something from his pocket. He always kept Jared's phone with him when they were attending a scene.

Tom took the phone. "ICE."

"In case of an emergency." Chad nodded his head. "You know why they have this system between them?"

Tom shook his head.

"You know how when you look at your phone and you see it's a text from someone, or someone's calling you yet again, you just sometimes don't answer the phone, because they can call back later, or you'll read the text later? Well, they don't want it to happen to them. That's why although they talk to everyone else on the phones or text everyone else, between the two of them it's only used in case of an emergency. It means that they have to take it; that it's not something stupid that could wait for later. And it works for them." Chad explained. "They started with the system just after Jensen's father passed away."

"It makes sense. I can understand why they do that." Tom closed his hand around Jared's phone. He would phone Jensen the moment they had Jared inside of the hospital. He looked up as the sirens quieted down and looked on as Chad pulled something into a syringe. "Think you're going to need that?"

Chad nodded his head. "I know Jared, and I can promise you, we're going to need it."

Jared opened his eyes the moment the ambulance sirens died down and immediately he started to struggle. "No, no, no. Let me out. Let me go." He was wheezing and he struggled hard and Tom could hear the strain on the straps that held Jared down.

"Easy, Jared. It's going to be all right." Chad tried to calm Jared down. He didn't want to sedate Jared, even if it was with something that would make him calm and a bit loopy, without taking him completely under.

The doors opened and the medical personnel grabbed hold of the gurney and pulled it out. They listened to Chad as he rattled of Jared's vitals and explained about the blood and then everything went to hell in a basket for a moment. Chad made sure he was next to the port in Jared's hand when they entered the ER. The moment the smell hit Jared's senses he bucked up and nearly managed to get the gurney to tumble over. The hospital personnel were still trying to get Jared to calm down when Chad already emptied the syringe into the port. The drug entered Jared's bloodstream fast and within a short while he had calmed down. Chad looked up as the ER doctor spoke up next to him.

"You've learned from the last time." Doctor Morgan said as they rolled the gurney into an empty cubicle.

"You know me, doc." Chad stood to the side as they transferred Jared from the gurney onto the bed. He helped pushed the gurney out, but stayed in the cubicle. He could see Jared was searching for something. "He's on his way, Jay. Tom's calling him."

Jared found Chad and locked eyes with him. "Jensen?" He asked and then moaned as someone started to place a blood pressure cuff around his arm.

"He's on his way, buddy." Chad repeated again.

Doctor Jeffrey Morgan looked on as his ER team assessed Jared's condition. He got to know Jared as a fire fighter a few years back, and got to know him better when Jared was admitted to hospital about a year and a half back. Even though it was not funny at that stage, he could smile about it now. Jared was extremely agitated when he arrived here, but due to the fact that he had a concussion, they didn't want to drug him until they could figure out the extent of the injury. Jared had managed to get off his bed, broke the noses of two orderlies, given another a fractured jaw and Jeff himself had ended up with a broken nose and a blackened eye before they could bring him under control. It was only then when they realized how frightened Jared was about hospitals. Jeff still didn't know the reason, but he knew that it was the right thing for Chad to do. "Jensen on his way?"

"He's been called." Chad replied from the side. The sedative had taken effect and although Jared was still awake, he was sort of zoned out and gave no one any problems treating him. "I'll go and wait for him outside." He spoke up when he saw that the doctor had everything under control.

"Chad," Chad looked up when Jeff spoke his name.

"I'm taking him for x-rays for his lungs. We'll be back in about half an hour." Jeff loosened the brakes on Jared's bed and helped push the bed out. "And don't worry; not only will I stay with him the whole time, but I'll let you know the moment we're back here."

"Thanks, doc." Chad made his way out of the ER and leaned against the wall at the parking side, the sun just peaked over the buildings in front of the hospital. Where he stood now, he'd be able to see Jensen come flying in and he'd be able to get him to Jared as soon as possible.

[ ](http://s792.photobucket.com/user/Dont_hate_me01/media/ICE3_zps90c3834e.png.html)

  
Tom watched on as they rolled Jared out of the ambulance. He took Jared's phone and hit speed dial one. Jensen's name appeared on the screen. It rang twice and then Jensen's voice sounded on the other side.

_"Jay, what's wrong?"_

"Jensen, it's me, Tom." Tom swallowed hard.

_"Tom? What's wrong, what happened, where's Jared?"_

Tom could hear the fear in Jensen's voice and he knew he had to make sure Jensen knew Jared was alive, before he even told him what had happened. "He's alive, Jensen. A bit shaken, but alive." From the way Jensen sighed Tom knew he had said the right words.

_"Where is he?"_

"We're at Baylor, at the emergency department."

_"What happened?"_

Tom could hear that Jensen was running and when a door slammed in the background and the strong engine of the Impala roared to life, Tom knew Jensen was on his way. "We were attending a fire and we found a woman and baby trapped." Knowing it was not a good idea to tell Jensen everything, he skipped almost everything. "We got them out, but he got some smoke into his lungs and Chad said he had to come in."

_"Fuck,"_ was the only thing Tom heard before the line went dead. He looked around and saw Chad coming out of the ER and walked towards him.

"Jared all right?"

Chad nodded his head as he slid down the wall to sit on the ground. "Doc Morgan is with him. They've taken him for x-rays. Nothing we can do now, it's just better to wait for Jensen."

Tom nodded his head, but didn't reply. Instead he lowered himself to the ground as well as they waited for Jensen to arrive.

[ ](http://s792.photobucket.com/user/Dont_hate_me01/media/ICE2_zpsc78779ed.png.html)

  
Jensen was asleep when his phone started to ring next to his ear. He grumbled and searched for the phone until his hand enclosed around it. He looked at the name on the screen and was awake in a heartbeat.

"Jay, what's wrong?" His heart nearly climbed out of his throat when he realized that it was Tom's voice on the other side. Even before he asked what had happened and where Jared was, he'd already started to dress. He didn't even bother with underwear, just pulled up his jeans and grabbed the keys to the Impala. By the time Tom explained about the fire, Jensen could read between the lines and knew that Tom was not telling him everything; he was in the car and on his way to the hospital. Jensen didn't even care what speed he was driving, he had to get to the hospital, he had to see with his own eyes that Jared was all right. He also knew how Jared felt about hospitals, and he wanted nothing more than to get there and to gather Jared in his arms to make sure Jared understood that everything would be okay.

When Jensen pulled up to the ER he could see both Chad and Tom making their way over to him. He got out of the car and jogged towards them. "Where is he, how is he?"

"He's in the ER." Chad started to explain and then pulled Jensen back as the man tried to walk on. "Stop, Jensen."

"What, why? What aren't you telling me?" Jensen could feel the color draining from his face.

"Whoa, take it easy. He's all right. I only wanted to let you know that Jeffrey took him to x-rays and that he's not in the ER at the moment. The doc said he'll let me know the moment he's back." Chad pulled Jensen closer and gave the taller man a hug.

Jensen nodded and sighed. "What happened, and this time don't leave things out." He addressed Tom.

It was Tom's turn to sigh. He knew Jensen deserved to know what had happened. His hands trembled as he searched through his pockets.

"You stopped smoking a year back, buddy." Chad said and pulled Tom's hand from his pocket.

"I wish I hadn't." Tom sighed again and then started to explain what had happened. This time he left nothing out.

"What about the blood?" Jensen turned to face Chad as Tom stopped recalling what had happened.

"Don't think it's anything to worry about. Jeffrey would've picked up on it immediately. As I explained to Tom, it's either because of a very raw throat, or because he might've bitten himself when he struggled. Morgan will tell us more."

"Only smoke inhalation?" Jensen had to be sure.

"As far as I could determine he's suffering from severe smoke inhalation, he has a few abrasions on him, but that's normal. You know he will suffer from some eye, nose and throat irritations. He most likely will have a headache from hell, will be short of breath and experience some nausea. Nothing that some oxygen treatment and rest could not cure." Chad explained patiently even though Jensen knew all of this himself.

"Are they going to keep him overnight?" Jensen asked.

"All depends on what the chest x-rays show. I do hope they don't." Chad really hoped that. It would mean that Jared would have to be sedated completely.

Jensen snorted. "You hope they don't, I can promise you, you're not the only one that's hoping that."

Just as Chad wanted to answer, his phone rang. He spoke a few words, smiled and ended the call. "That was the doc, Jared's back in the ER. We can go in."

All three men made their way to the ER entrance. "What did he say, how's Jared?" Jensen asked as he pushed the doors open.

"There's Jeffrey, ask him yourself." Chad indicated to the doctor that walked towards them.

"Doc," Jensen greeted the doctor as they came together. "How is he?"

"Let me take you to him to put you at ease and then we can talk." Jeffrey walked back with them to the cubicle where Jared was brought first. He opened the curtain and followed the three men in. Jared was lying on his back with an oxygen mask over his face. His eyes were closed and he was breathing deeply.

"Jay," Jensen took Jared's hand in his and then frowned when the other man's eyes remained closed.

"Not to worry, Jensen. I gave Jared something to make him rest. He had a hard coughing spell at the x-rays and it wiped him out. I knew he wouldn't be able to sleep on his own, so I gave him something to sleep. He'll be out for a while."

Jensen nodded his head and squeezed Jared's hand hard. He hated seeing Jared like this. He was used to seeing Jared moving the whole time, even in his deepest sleep. "What did you find with the x-rays, doc?"

"He's got one small spot on his left lung, but that will clear up with some therapy; I'm not too worried about that. I also found out what caused the blood that he coughed up." He looked up at Jensen. "He managed to bite himself hard on the inside of his cheek, and that caused the speckles of blood. Nothing to worry about there."

"Are you going to keep him here?" Jensen asked.

Jeffrey nodded once. "Yes, I think it will be the best. I want to keep him on full oxygen for the night, get a physiotherapist to see him tomorrow morning, get another set of x-rays and if I'm satisfied, I'll release him then." Jeffrey looked at the men beside him. "I know that's not what you wanted to hear, but you are all aware of the side effects of smoke inhalation. I'm not taking any chances. I also know you're concerned about him panicking and although I hate doing it, we'll keep him sedated until tomorrow morning if it's needed. I've already made it clear on his chart what to do. That way he will get the necessary rest and by tomorrow when we're ready to discharge him, he'll be calm enough to get through this in one piece."

"I understand. Can I stay with him?" Jensen asked as he brushed Jared's hair out of his eyes.

"Sure, I'll make sure the nursing staff knows you're here and that they inform you which room he will be in once they've moved him from here." He shook Chad and Tom's hand, and slapped Jensen on the shoulder. "I'll be back in a few hours to see how he's doing."

"Thanks, doc." Jensen turned his attention back to the man in the bed. "You gave me such a fright, I don't know what I would've done if..."

"Hey, don't you even dare complete that sentence." Tom spoke up. "He's all right, he'll be up tomorrow and at home for you to take care of him."

"I know, I'm sorry. It's just..."

This time Chad interrupted. "It's just scary. We get that. But as Tom said, he's all right. By tomorrow he'll be his old self again, not staying still for one moment."

Jensen smiled. "Thanks guys."

Chad smiled back. "I'll come back later when he's moved into his room. I need to get back to the station." He turned to face Tom. "You want a lift? The captain was serious when he said you should go home."

"I'll stay for a while. I'll phone someone to come and pick me up." Tom answered. He knew Jared was all right, but he wanted to make sure for himself.

"Okay, I'll see you later." Chad left the room.

The curtain opened up before either man could speak up again a young nurse stepped inside. "Hello, my name is Adelaide, I wanted to inform you, that we're going to move Mister Padalecki to his room now, if you could give us a few minutes. I'll take you to his room as soon as he's settled in."

Jensen grinned. "Call him Jared. He'll roll his eyes at you if you call him mister Padalecki." Jensen squeezed Jared's hand once and then stepped out of the small cubicle.

"Let's get some fresh air." Tom guided Jensen outside and both men sat down on the ground again. It was almost seven in the morning and they could see that the hospital was becoming busy.

"Do you know anything about the people you rescued?" Jensen asked.

Tom nodded his head. "The woman is in a coma and the baby is unconscious. They think she might have sustained some brain damage due to the lack of oxygen." He took a deep breath. "There was something strange going on in that apartment, Jensen." He shook his head.

"What do you mean?" Jensen frowned.

"The windows, they were all glued shut. When we entered the apartment, Jared kicked the door down. When we exited I didn't realize it, but later as I thought back, I realized that there was no handle on the inside. If that apartment door was locked, no one could get out."

"But why?"

"I don't know, Jen. It's just strange. I heard some of the nurses who treated the woman talking. She was apparently severely beaten. Bruises covered her whole body." Tom stood up and paced back and forth.

"You need to let the police know. They have to investigate this." Jensen didn't like what Tom told him. He'd seen his fair share of spousal abuse and he knew what the outcome would be if it continued.

"I will. I'll call Detective Beaver a bit later." They all knew the old detective. He was one of the regulars at Firewater.

"You do that." Jensen looked around as someone called his name. He stood up as he saw that it was nurse Adelaide from earlier. "Everything all right?"

She smiled. "Everything is fine. Just wanted to let you know that we've got Jared settled into his room. Room number 2148, it's on the second floor, west wing."

"Thank you so much." Jensen stepped into the hospital and headed towards the stairs. He hated taking lifts, to him they were only deathtraps. He stepped out on the second floor and searched for the number. Finding the even numbers on the right side of the hall he walked down the corridor, counting the numbers until he reached 148. He peaked in and sighed as he saw Jared lying there. "Hey, Jay." He greeted the sleeping man softly as he placed a kiss on his brow. He looked up as someone entered the room.

"Sorry to disturb, I'm Veronica, I'm Jared's nurse here. Doctor Morgan told us you'll be staying here. I ordered this cot for you. It's not much, but I do hope you'll get some rest on it later on."

"Thank you, Veronica. I'm Jensen." He indicated to the man on the bed. "Sleeping beauty here is called Jared."

Veronica smiled. "Nice to meet you." She made sure that the covers on Jared's bed where pulled tight and then she excited the room. "Visiting hours are between ten and eleven, two and three and at night between six and seven. I know we've received a few calls already in regarding to Jared, so I'll make sure to let everyone know when visiting hours are."

"Thank you, again." Jensen pulled a chair closer and closed his hand over Jared's. He had no idea how long Jared would still be asleep from the sedation, the only thing he could do was to wait patiently.

[ ](http://s792.photobucket.com/user/Dont_hate_me01/media/ICE3_zps90c3834e.png.html)

  
Jensen was seated with his eyes closed; resting his hand over Jared's when he felt Jared started to shift on the bed. "Jay," he called as he stood up and made sure that he was in Jared's field of vision when the younger man opened his eyes. "Jay," Jensen called again. "Open your eyes, Jared." He kept on talking to his boyfriend until Jared groaned and then finally opened his eyes. Jensen knew he only had a few moments left to get Jared to stay calm or else Jared would freak out. "Hey," Jensen smiled as Jared's gaze landed on him. He could see the confusion on Jared's face. "It's all right. You're going to be all right." He squeezed Jared's hand as his boyfriend shook his head and started to wriggle on the bed.

The first thing Jared became aware of was the fact that the bed he was laying on was not his bed, not only was it too narrow and too short, but the sheets where scratchy. He started to move around and that's when he heard Jensen's voice and at the same time he smelled the one smell in his life that he hated - _antiseptics_. He opened his eyes and found Jensen's emerald green eyes on him. His boyfriend smiled. _"It's all right. You're going to be all right."_ Jared heard the words, but his mind and his body didn't want to believe it. "No," he started to get up. "Don't want to be here." He tried to swing his legs off the bed, but was halted by Jensen who pressed him down. "Let me up, Jen, please. You know I can't stay here, please." He coughed hard, but still tried to get up again.

"Jared, no." Jensen had moved to Jared's side and pressed the bigger man down. "You have to stay here; you're suffering from some serious smoke inhalation." His hand rested on the call button. He didn't want to do this, but if Jared kept on struggling against him, he wouldn't have any choice.

"Jared," Jensen lifted his boyfriend's chin so that he could look him in the eye. "I know you hate this place, and if it was up to me, you wouldn't have been here, but Doc Morgan said you had to stay. You inhaled too much smoke. He has made a note on your file that you may be sedated if necessary, Jay. Please don't let them do that, please."

Jared's was panting hard. His whole body and mind screamed at him to get out of here and he wanted to obey that command in a mere heartbeat. He looked up into Jensen's eyes and saw only love there. He knew Jensen only wanted what was best for him. "How long?"

"Only for tonight. They'll take x-rays tomorrow morning again and Jeff said if it looked good he'd discharged you." Jensen had pulled Jared to his chest and held his trembling partner close. He knew the reason why Jared hated hospitals, some people said it was an irrational fear, but to Jensen it made perfectly sense. Jared was six years old when he was in a car accident, together with his grandparents. Both adults and Jared were taken to hospital. All three of them where treated in the ER when first Jared's grandma coded and then a few minutes later his grandpa. The six year old had a front row seat to both deaths. It had him hard, but just when they thought he was over it, his father had to go into hospital for a small operation. Jared was hysterical, it didn't matter that he was told that it was routine and that his father would be home by the afternoon. Instead Jared's father suffered a massive heart attack and died. It happened two weeks after Jared's seventh birthday. From there on Jared refused to enter a hospital, not to visit and definitely not as a patient.

"You will stay?" Jared asked against Jensen's chest. He had a headache from hell and his chest hurt, but he wasn't about to say anything. He knew that if Jensen stayed with him he'd be able to get through it.

"I'm staying, not going anywhere." Jensen released Jared from the hug and took a small step back. "You want something for that head of yours, I can see you're in pain."

Jared shook his head. "No meds."

"Jeff made sure that it won't knock you out, just take the pain away."

"You sure?" He grunted out the words.

"I'm sure. I checked it myself. It's not going to make you sleepy." Jensen reassured him.

Jared nodded his head and leaned back as another stab of pain raced through his head. He keened hard and sighed as a cold press was placed on his forehead.

"This will help." Jensen smiled as he saw Jared's body relax. They waited in patience for the nurse to bring the medicine. He took the small cup with the two white tablets in it and held it out to Jared. "I promise, it's only for the pain."

Jared took the offered medicine and swallowed it with the water and then closed his eyes. His eyes remained closed for about ten minutes before he opened them up again. He found Jensen's gaze on him.

"Pills kicking in?" Jensen smiled.

"Yes, feeling better." Jared sighed. He could actually think without the accompanied pounding in his head.

"I'm glad." Jensen held Jared's hand as they sat in silence. After a while Jensen felt the hold Jared had on his hand lessened and when he looked he saw Jared had fallen asleep. He smiled. It seemed like they didn't need any medicine to knock Jared out, he was exhausted enough to do it on his own. He stood up, kissed Jared softly and then stepped out of the room. He had some calls to make, both their families and their friends where waiting for an update, one that he was grateful for giving them.

[ ](http://s792.photobucket.com/user/Dont_hate_me01/media/ICE2_zpsc78779ed.png.html)

  
Jensen looked up as Jared's door opened and Chad poked his head around the door. "Come on in." He smiled as Chad and Sophia stepped in. Chad had this huge balloon in his hand and Jensen couldn't help but to laugh. "Where did you get that?"

Chad grinned. "That weird gift shop near Sophia's work. Saw it a few weeks back and couldn't help to go and pick it up this afternoon.” He looked at the balloon that was shaped in a moose head, huge antlers and all. At the bottom it read - _Get Well Soon_.

"He's gonna love it." Jensen shook his head as he tied it to the roll away table's leg. He offered Sophia the chair and stood next to Jared's bed. He wasn't surprise to see that Jared didn't wake up when his friends entered; Jared was really exhausted after that fire fight. "He'll wake up soon. He's been sleeping for a while now." He spoke softly and let his thumb glide over the back of Jared's hand.

"Did they have to sedate him?" Chad slapped Jensen's shoulder. "Did Jeffrey come and check on him again?"

"No on the first question." Jensen had to grin at that fact. "And yeah on the second. He was here about an hour back. He was happy with Jared's chest sounds, but still wanted to keep him overnight."

"That's great news." Sophia squeezed Jared hand. "He's still a bit pale."

"It's the lighting in here." Jared's gruff sounded voice sounded up as he opened his eyes and looked at his friends.

"Hey," Sophia leaned in and kissed Jared on the forehead. "How are you feeling?"

"Hey, Sophia. I'm feeling okay." He refrained from the word fine, knowing Jensen would snort at him.

"That's good to hear, buddy." Chad hugged Jared and then stood back. "You really were out of it."

"Sorry," Jared started to speak up.

Chad shook his head. "No need to be sorry. I know how you feel about this place." He smiled and then drew Jared's attention to the balloon. "What do you think of this?"

Jared saw the moose balloon for the first time and he had to laugh. "It's great, Chad. Love it." He grinned from ear to ear. The friends chatted until there was another knock at the door and it opened up with Steve, Christian, Tom, Kirsten and Danneel entering. Everyone greeted one another and Jensen was happy to see that their friends had managed to keep Jared calm. It would seem like they would be able to keep Jared from panicking. It would mean the world to Jared to make it through this night without being sedated and Jensen could see that with the way things were going right now that Jared would drift off to sleep from being tired and not because of being sedated.

The circle of friends made use of the whole allotted time to visit Jared before they all bid their goodbyes and left the two men behind. Jensen made sure Jared was settled in for the night before he took his place next to Jared's bed again. They sat in silence, Jensen only let go of Jared's hand when the younger man fell asleep and then he closed his own eyes to get some sleep himself.

[ ](http://s792.photobucket.com/user/Dont_hate_me01/media/ICE3_zps90c3834e.png.html)

  
"You ready to get out of here?" Jensen asked even as he picked up Jared's bag from the bed.

"You know it." Jared said quietly, although a bit raw. He took Jensen's hand and walked to the door, it was time to get out.

"You all right?" Jensen asked as they got into the lift and Jared squeezed his hand hard.

"Just want to get out of here." Jared leaned against Jensen. He hated feeling like this, but knew that until he got out of this building he would be an emotional mess.

"We'll be out just now, you're doing great." Jensen smiled and kissed Jared on the forehead and then stepped out of the lift as the doors opened. He smiled as Jared stepped past him and nearly dragged him out of the hospital. "Slow down, you don't even know where the car is parked."

"Near the ER entrance." Jared didn't slow down but made his way around the building and only slowed down when he saw the Impala. "There."

Jensen shook his head, opened the car and placed Jared's bag in the trunk. "Let's get you home."

"I'm not going to bed." Jared piped up.

Jensen rolled his eyes. "I understand that, so what do you say we take it easy on the couch?"

"You will not make me sleep?" Jared arched his brow. He was under the impression that he would've had to fight Jensen on this.

"No," Jensen shook his head. "As long as you take it easy, I don't see why you have to be in bed. If you're good we can go to Firewater tonight. Chris and Steve are playing there."

Jared smiled. "Sounds good, I heard them mentioning it last night." He leaned back against the seat. His chest burned a bit, especially if he tried to breathe too deeply, but he knew that was to be expected.

Jensen caught Jared's hand with his and placed both hands on his thigh as he made their way through traffic. He still couldn't believe that Jared had survived the night in the hospital without any further sedation.

"What are you thinking about?" Jared asked even as he kept his eyes closed.

"How proud I am of you; you made it." Jensen lifted Jared's hand and kissed him on the knuckles.

Jared smiled but didn't reply. He couldn't put it in words how grateful he was to have a boyfriend like Jensen to support him. He gave a large yawn and laughed as Jensen smiled at him. "Still not going to bed."

Jensen nodded his head. "As long as I can cuddle with you, I don't mind." He squeezed Jared's hand and the two men made the rest of the trip in comfortable silence.


	3. ICE - In Case of Emergency

**Part 2**

"Jared!" Tom called out as Jared and Jensen made their way through the crowd.

"How're you feeling, bud?" He asked before he hugged Jared hard and turned to Jensen to hug him as well.

"Good," Jared spoke softly. His voice was still gruff and he knew he had to take it easy or he would not have a voice for the next couple of days. He also knew Jensen would give him grief if he overdid it.

"Jared Tristan Padalecki," Danneel's voice sounded at his back and Jared turned to face one of his good friends. She stood with her hands in her sides and shook her head at him.

"You're responsible for all of my grey hair." She twirled her finger around a loose strand, but smiled. "Happy to see you're okay." She stepped into his embrace and hugged him hard. "Don't do that again," she whispered before she stepped back. She turned to Jensen. "I'm happy to see he's all right."

"Me too." Jensen hugged her as well and placed a gently kiss on her cheek. He was about to speak up when Tom's voice sounded through the bar. "First round on Jensen."

"Only if you pay it, Welling." He bellowed back but then nodded his head in the direction of the bar where the young Osric was doing duty. He signaled for two beers and smiled as it were handed over to him almost immediately. "Thanks, bud." He smiled at Osric and made his way over to where Jared was surrounded by their friends. "Here you go," he handed the one beer to Jared and took up a seat next to him.

"Thanks," Jared took a sip of the ice cold beer and laughed at a joke made by one of their friends. He turned and faced Jensen. "You going to go up there tonight?"

Jensen smiled. "I didn't plan on singing, why?"

Jared smiled back and leaned into Jensen's side. "Would love to hear you sing."

"I always sing to you," Jensen joked.

Jared rolled his eyes. "I'm not talking about you singing in the shower, I'm talking about you going up there and really sing. You don't do it much anymore. You must miss it, I know I do." He kissed Jensen lightly on the lips and then grinned. "I'll make it worth your while."

Jensen raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean"? He asked although by the way Jared was looking at him he had an idea what his boyfriend had in mind.

"Let's just say it will blow your mind." Jared whispered and kissed Jensen again, but this time he plundered Jensen's mouth. Only after minutes of kissing Jensen hard did he move back. His eyes shined with lust.

"You sure you want me to go and sing?" Jensen dragged his lip over his bottom lip.

"Please," Jared kissed him again and then pushed him away. "You'll enjoy it."

"Okay, I'll sing. But just for you." It was his turn to devour Jared's mouth before he move to the stage. He smiled as their friends cheered him on. He hugged both Chris and Steve as he joined them on stage. He took a bar stool and sat down. He laughed hard as Chris passed him a guitar. "Let's do this." He quickly settled in and started to hum under his breath as they tuned their instruments and got ready to start the gig. He found Jared's face in the crowd and smiled. He wasn't planning on staying too long on stage, but Jared was right. He was going to enjoy it.

Jared looked up as the first notes of _You Belong To Me_ sounded through the air. It was the one song that Jensen always sang to Jared when they were alone. It was _their_ song. The whole bar quieted down when Jensen's voice picked up the first verse...

_See the pyramids around the Nile_  
 _Watch the sunrise from a tropic isle_  
 _Just remember darling all the while - you belong to me_

It was a dream of them to go and travel the world, but being a firefighter and a paramedic meant that it would take them more than a couple of years to save up for that dream, but in the meantime they found their dreams in the words of songs like this one. Jared couldn't keep his gaze off Jensen, letting the words settle deep in his soul as his partner told him through the words of a song just how much he loved him. When the last notes quieted down the bar erupted into cheering and Jared cheered the hardest. He grinned from ear to ear as Jensen smiled at him and although he wouldn't have minded to hear Jensen sing some more he had no qualms in gathering Jensen in a hard embrace as his boyfriend stepped down from the stage into his arms. "Love you," he whispered against Jensen's ear.

"Love you, back." Jensen tilted their heads and kissed Jared hard before he broke the bond between them and reached for a beer, all the while smiling and not letting go of Jared's hand at the same time as they made their way through the crowd to find their friends again. He had a huge smile on his face. Jared was right, although he did enjoy singing on stage, he really didn't realize just how much he had missed it until now. He reached out and shook Jim Beaver's hand as the older man appeared before him. "Jim," he greeted friendly and took the beer offered to him by Tom.

"Jensen, you're wasting your talents as a singer." Jim said and took a swig of his beer. He always loved hearing Jensen sing on stage. He greeted Jared by hugging the larger man hard and turned to face him. "And you, heard you gave Jensen quite a scare."

Jared smiled. "I didn't mean too."

"Hell, boy. I know you didn't mean too. Just happy to see you're all right." Jim took another sip of his beer. "I heard from Tom that you two boys wanted to talk to me?"

Jared nodded his head, but Tom started to talk. "There was something strange going on in that apartment, Jim." He looked around and spotted a reasonably quiet corner. "Let's go and talk there, then we don't have to shout to one another." All three men picked up their drinks and headed over to the corner.

They placed their drinks on the table. "What do you mean, Tom?" Jim asked.

"When we entered the room we found the woman on the floor in the room. We found the baby inside of the closet. I don't know about Jared, but to me it looked like he was hidden in there." Tom looked at Jared.

Jared nodded his head. "He was covered with some clothes, if it wasn't for the fact that I saw his one foot sticking out, I wouldn't have known that he was there."

Jim raised his eyebrow. He didn't like the sound of this. "Are you telling me the mother placed him in the closet while knowing that there was a fire in the building?"

"No, I don't think so," Tom spoke up. "The apartment door had no handle on the inside and the windows were glued shut. She couldn't get out herself. I also heard at the hospital that it seemed like she was abused. Her whole body was covered in bruises."

"I think she tried to cover him up so that he would be safe from the smoke and flames." Jared spoke up.

Jim looked at the two men before him. "I'll look into this. Come by the station tomorrow and make formal statements. I'll take from there." He emptied his bottle of beer before he spoke up again. "Do you know how they are doing?"

Tom shook his head, but Jared spoke up. "I phoned the hospital this afternoon. They didn't want to tell me much, but I did find out that the woman was still in a coma and that the boy was still holding his own. Both their conditions are critical."

"I will make sure to follow this up." Jim nodded his head as he rose from the bar chair. "Let's get something more to drink." All three men made their way back to their friends.

Jared shook his head at the cold beer Jensen held out to him and gave his partner a kiss. "I'm exhausted, do you mind if I take the Impala back and you get a lift from Chris or someone else?"

Jensen pulled Jared to his side. "Your head aching?"

"A bit." Jared smiled. "Just want to go and lay down for a while."

"Well then let's get out of here." He passed the still full bottle of beer to Chris. "We're out of here. Thanks for the gig, it was great."

Christian looked over Jensen's shoulder and saw how wrung out Jared look. He nodded his head. "Go and take care of your boy, we'll talk later."

"Thanks," Jensen greeted Christian with a hug and then said goodbye to everyone else. He was aware of the fact that Jared stayed close to him the whole time. "Let's go." He placed a soft kiss on Jared's temple and then steered his boyfriend out of the rowdy bar.

"You really don't need to come with me; you can stay and have a good time here." Jared tried to persuade Jensen to stay behind and visit with their friends.

"You belong to me." Jensen quoted the words to their song to Jared and then smiled. "You know those words are true - for the both of us. So there's no way I'm staying behind while you're hurting. We're going home so that you can get some relief from that headache and if you're a good boy I'll even sing to you some more."

Jared snorted and shook his head. "A good boy you say?" He tugged at Jensen's hand. "I'm always a good boy." They both laughed as they excited the bar and made their way over to where the Impala was parked. Jared waited patiently for Jensen to unlock the car for him before he got in. He opened Jensen's door from the inside and as Jensen climbed in, he kissed him for a long time before pulling back again. "Let's go home."

"Sounds like a good idea to me." Jensen traced Jared's face with his finger. He hated to see how pale Jared still looked.

"I'm all right," Jared said as he saw the concern in Jensen's eyes.

"Mm, let me be the judge of that." Jensen kissed Jared one more time and then started the car, put her in drive and pulled away. None of the two men noticed the dark colored sedan that pulled in behind them and followed them from a safe distance.

[ ](http://s792.photobucket.com/user/Dont_hate_me01/media/ICE2_zpsc78779ed.png.html)

  
**Following Afternoon: Police Precinct**

Jim shook Tom's hand first and then Jared's. He and his partner were finished taking down the two firefighter’s statements and the two men were on their way out. "Thanks again, guys."

Jared nodded his head. He was still shocked from what he had heard. The victim's name was Sara Cunningham, a twenty two year old court reporter. From what the police gathered she was in a relationship with an abusive man by the name of Frankie Roberts. Mister Roberts was also the biological father of the seven month old baby boy called Eric. The last Jim heard was that both Sara and Eric were still in a critical condition. The police was looking for Roberts. "Do you have any idea where to start looking for this guy?"

"There's a few places that he likes to hang out at, we're keeping an eye on them. We did visit his sister that also lives in the city, but according to her she hasn't seen her brother in almost six months. She did say she would contact us if he showed up at her the place." Jim explained as the three men walked out of the precinct. He looked at the two men next to him. "Don't go and do anything stupid, you hear me, boys?" Jim had to smile when Jared at least looked guilty, but Tom rolled his eyes. "I mean it, leave it to us, we'll get that SOB."

"Yes, Jim." Jared replied, but he knew that although their friend was warning them, they would not leave it like this. If they found Roberts (after having a good look at a mug shot of his face) they would not idly stand by and do nothing.

Tom decided to remain silent. He would break that bastard's neck if he laid his hands on him. He waited for Jared and the two of them walked on to where Tom had parked his car. He climbed in and busied himself with his phone for a minute or two before starting up and heading to the firehouse.

Jared's raised his brow as his cell sounded in his pocket. He took out the phone and looked at the text he received. "Where did you get this?" He indicated to the same mug shot he saw in the precinct now displayed on his screen.

"Collins stepped out for a second and I took a picture." Tom shrugged his shoulders.

"You know that between all of us firefighters and the EMT's we've got a good chance spotting him if he's around town, I'm just making sure everyone knows we're looking."

Jared knew it was a great idea, Tom was right. Between all the firehouses and the routes the EMT's did they all but covered the whole city. If there was anyone with a chance to find Frankie Roberts then it was them. "As long as no one does anything stupid."

Tom snorted. "He deserves it." He changed lanes and turned into their house. "Looks like we've got company." He indicated to the fire marshal's car that stood on one of the designated parking spots.

"It must be about the apartment fire." Jared got out of the vehicle and together with Tom they walked into the station. He was not surprised to hear his Captain calling out to him and Tom the moment they stepped inside. "Coming, Cap," Jared answered and placed his pack on the table before heading to the captain's office. Tom followed him in.

[ ](http://s792.photobucket.com/user/Dont_hate_me01/media/ICE3_zps90c3834e.png.html)

  
Jensen frowned as his phone chirped. He was about to pick it up when the phones of almost all of the other EMT's lounging around chimed up as well. "That's strange." He opened up his phone and looked at the text he received and smirked. He should've known something like this would happen, especially when Tom was around. He looked up as Christian spoke up.

"Seems like the trip to the precinct went well." Christian took his phone and started to forward the text he also received. "I can understand why Tom would start something like this."

"Yeah, me too. But I don't think that Jim would be too impressed." Jensen shook his head as he put his phone away.

"Jim will understand, he may not be allowed to say so officially, but we all know the old man. He will definitely understand." Chris tucked his own phone away after he had resent it to a few other EMTS' and firefighters that he knew from different stations.

Jensen nodded his head. He looked at his watch and sighed. Once again his and Jared's schedules were conflicting and where he only had another two hours to work, Jared would get off tomorrow morning, just when Jensen's coming back on duty. He sighed heavily.

"What's wrong?" Christian asked in concern.

"Do you think that someone's doing it on purpose?"

"What?" Chris frowned. He had no idea what his friend was referring to.

"Messing up our schedules. I mean, myself and Jared are the only couple that's got conflicting schedules. All the other couples are off at the same time."

Christian smiled and rolled his eyes. "It's just how it worked out. You know it's our Captains that work out the schedules. I can promise you, no one is out to get you and Jared."

Jensen scuffed. "It feels like it." He wanted to make another remark when the alarm sounded and they got called out to a possible heart attack. "Let's go." He made his way out to where their ambulance was parked and got into the passenger side as Chris got behind the wheel. Jensen took the clipboard and started filling in the information they received from dispatch.

Chris pulled up next to the single story home and even before Jensen could open his door an elderly woman ran from the home in clear hysteria. He couldn't make out all of the words as she ran to the ambulance and started to pull his arm.

"He's in there, please, please." She kept on pulling and Jensen had no option but to follow her. He was aware of the fact that Chris had opened the back of the ambulance and was getting their equipment.

Jensen entered the apartment and found their patient seated on a couch. The elderly man was breathing hard and was clutching his chest. Jensen detached himself from the woman and took the man's wrist between his fingers to feel the pulse. It was beating rapidly, but was strong. He took in the man's complexion and noticed that he was not covered in sweat and that although he was breathing hard, he was not struggling to breathe.

He started directing his question to the man and nodded his head as the patient informed him that he had a very uncomfortable burning sensation to his chest. Jensen looked on as the man pointed towards his sternum. He used the stethoscope around his neck to listen carefully. The man belched hard and Jensen looked at Chris over his shoulder. "When was the last time you ate, sir?"

It was the woman who answered out of breath, almost sounding panicking. "We just had lunch about an hour ago."

Chris looked on as Jensen assessed the patient. He turned his attention to the wife. "Ma'am, you need to calm down. Take some deep breaths for me in and out." Christ kept one eye on Jensen and the other on the woman, smiling as he saw that she was calming down as well.

"What did you have for lunch?" Jensen asked as he kept his voice low and tension free. He had an idea on what was going on, but wanted to make sure before he said something.

"Oh, a little bit of that and a little bit of this." The woman indicated with her hands.

"Can you be more specific, please?" Chris asked as he helped Jensen to get the man in a more comfortable position, making sure he was seated more upright and not leaning over.

"There were some turkey sandwiches, Mac and cheese, potato salad, and his favorite, pickles." The woman explained.

Jensen smiled and turned to face his patient again. "If you bend over or attempt to lie down is the pain worse or better?"

"Worse." The man asked. "Am I dying?" He sounded terrified.

Jensen shook his head. "No, sir. I won't say that you're dying, but I would say that it sounds to me like you're suffering from a severe bout of heartburn. We are however going to take you to the hospital so that the doctors can check you out, just to be on the safe side. Is that all right with you?"

"Heartburn?" The man frowned and then huffed, "never experienced that before, could've sworn I was dying. Do you think it's necessary for me to be checked out?" He rubbed his chest again and was happy that the sensation was dulling a bit.

Chris nodded his head. "Let's do it to make sure." He turned to face the woman. "You're more than welcome to ride with your husband in the ambulance if you wish."

"Yes, please." She smiled sweetly and then went over to where her husband was seated on the couch. "I told you, you eat too much." She sighed and then leaned down to hug him hard. "You gave me such a fright."

Jensen and Chris smiled. It was not a common sight to see people still in love after so many years. The two paramedics helped their patient onto the gurney and wheeled him out. Jensen made sure that the wife was seated in the passenger side of the ambulance before he climbed into the back himself. As he closed the doors he frowned. There was a dark sedan vehicle parked a few houses down, it looked familiar and he couldn't place it. He shrugged his shoulders and then gave Chris the go ahead. He didn't notice the vehicle pulling out and following them.

[ ](http://s792.photobucket.com/user/Dont_hate_me01/media/ICE2_zpsc78779ed.png.html)

  
Both Tom and Jared were devastated by the news they received when the stepped into their captain's office. The apartment fire was now a homicide investigation as the woman had died earlier.

"What about the baby, Eric?" Jared asked as he rubbed his hand over his face.

"The mother has an older sister who will take custody of the child." Their captain explained and then sighed. "I'm sorry, Jared." All of them took the news hard when a person they rescued died, but Jared always took it a bit harder - it was what made him Jared.

Jared shrugged his shoulders and slapped Tom on the shoulder. It was Tom who had rescued the mom. He looked up at the captain and the fire marshal. "Is there anything else, or may I be excused?"

"You're both excused." The captain released his men and as they stepped out of his office he turned to the fire marshal. "I do hope the police catch that bastard before any of my men do, he would not survive it if they do."

The marshal nodded his head. "I for one can't see the problem in that."

[ ](http://s792.photobucket.com/user/Dont_hate_me01/media/ICE3_zps90c3834e.png.html)

  
Jared was grateful that the rest of their shift went down without any other call outs and that he could head home. He wanted to stop by Jensen for a minute; there was something he needed to discuss with his boyfriend. He thanked Tom for the lift and smiled as he saw Jensen hanging out of the ambulance. He had hoped that Jensen would not be out on a call. "Hey," he called out and walked closer.

Jensen's head snapped around as he heard Jared's voice behind him. "Hey," he smiled as he got out of the ambulance and jogged over. "What a nice surprise." Jensen leaned in and kissed Jared softly before he pulled him in and hugged him hard.

"What are you doing here?" Jensen smiled again as they made their way over to the ambulance.

"We had a very boring shift and I managed to sneak away a few minutes earlier. There's also something I want to talk to you about." Jared answered but kept his gaze lowered.

"What's wrong, Jay?" Jensen opened the back doors of the ambulance and both men took their seats. He lifted Jared's chin with his finger so that his boyfriend looked him in the eye. "What's wrong?"

"She died."

Jensen dragged his hand over his face and then pulled Jared to his chest. "I'm sorry, buddy." He kept Jared close.

Jared sighed as he leaned into Jensen's touch. The two men sat in silence for a few minutes before Jared moved away. He looked at Jensen. "I need to go and see Eric."

Jensen looked on in wonder at Jared. "In the hospital?"

Jared slowly nodded his head. "Yeah, I'm kind of scared shitless over the thought of visiting him in hospital, but I want to do that. I need to do that." He shrugged his shoulders. "I know it doesn't make sense and I can't do anything for him and it must sound silly, but I need to."

"Look at me, Jay." Jensen urged Jared to look up again. "It's a wonderful idea and I will help you in whichever way I can." He still couldn't believe that Jared was willingly going to the hospital; it made him once again realize how special Jared really was.

"You don't think it's silly?"

"No, it's not silly." Jensen smiled, "it's a wonderful idea. When do you want to go?"

"I don't know. I need to find out if he can receive visitors and if we're even allowed to visit him."

"Want me to find out?" Jensen reached for his phone and as Jared nodded his head he searched the number for the hospital on his phone and placed it to his ear. He kept an eye on Jared as he waited for the switchboard to answer his call. He still couldn't believe that Jared wanted to go willingly to the hospital. It left him amazed. His call got answered and he was transferred to the pediatrics ICU ward. He explained who he was and the reason for his call and smiled when the nurse indicated that they were more than welcome to come and visit, even if it was only for a few minutes. Eric's guardian had arrived earlier and already made inquiries on who was responsible for saving her sister's child. Jensen ended the call and smiled as he turned to face Jared again. "We're more than welcome."

Jared gulped. "As easy as that?"

"As easy as that." Jensen knew that it was hard for Jared, but when Jared made a decision he stuck to it. "We can go and visit tonight, you know Captain Reynolds won't mind giving me that half an hour off."

"Tonight?" Jared gulped but then nodded his head. "Yes, tonight. I need to do this." His hands trembled but his voice was steady.

[ ](http://s792.photobucket.com/user/Dont_hate_me01/media/ICE2_zpsc78779ed.png.html)

  
Jensen looked on in concern as Jared managed to step out of the Impala. He was covered in sweat and his hands were trembling hard, but Jensen was still proud of him. He walked around the car and took Jared's hand in his. "You're doing great." He smiled as Jared rolled his eyes at him.

"Can't believe this is so freaking difficult."

"Take your time." Jensen stood still and waited patiently for Jared to take the first step towards the hospital doors.

Jared nodded his head, took a deep breath and then started walking. He hated hospitals. No, hated was not a strong enough word, and it really didn't describe how he felt towards these places. To say he loathed hospitals would be a start, but he also had an unbelievable fear towards them and although he knew Jensen supported him all the way, he knew there were people who thought him to be off his rocker. But he couldn't help it. Jared took another breath and another step. He needed to do this. He was aware of the fact that he was squeezing Jensen's hand very hard, but Jensen didn't complain once.

Together the two men made it into hospital and there, for the first time, Jared's steps faltered. Jensen stopped as Jared came to a halt and turned to face his boyfriend. "You need a moment?"

"Please," Jared leaned forward and placed his head on Jensen's shoulder breathing deep. He could feel the shivers traveling through his body, but he tried to ignore them, not wanting to give in. He snorted hard. "It's so freaking stupid. I'm a firefighter, I go into burning buildings almost on a daily basis, go up into high-rise buildings, hang from rooftops, but I can't step into a hospital." He shook his head and then stood back. "Let's go."

Jensen smiled, gave Jared a short kiss and led him over to the stairs, where both men climbed the required floors with ease. Jared came to a halt on the last stair in front of the door that would lead onto the pediatric ICU ward. "Fuck," he leaned with his head against the door.

"Almost there, I'm so proud of you." Jensen squeezed Jared's arm, stepped past him and opened up the door. He waited for Jared to step through and took his hand; he ignored the tremble in Jared's hand and together they stepped towards the nursing station. He smiled when a nurse looked up at them. "Hey," he greeted her friendly. "We're here to visit baby Eric?"

Nurse Rebecca smiled at the man who greeted her. She looked at both men and frowned slightly. While the hunk that greeted her looked calm, the same could not be said for his partner. The man was visibly trembling, and sweat dripped from his forehead. "Are you all right?"

Jared nodded his head, but didn't attempt to talk. If he had to open his mouth now he would turn and run.

"You sure? You don't look good and if you're ill you're not allowed to visit any of the patients."

Jensen could see that Jared was getting ready to bolt. He knew he had to do something quick and took out his ID card as well as Jared's card. "We're here to visit baby Eric? I've called earlier to make sure it's okay?"

Rebecca turned her attention back to the hunky one. "Yes, that's right. I spoke to you over the phone. Jensen?"

Jensen nodded his head. "Yes, and this is Jared." He indicated to Jared who seemed to have taken the moment to get his breathing under control. He was happy to see that Jared managed to smile. "Is it possible for us to visit him for a few minutes, please?"

Rebecca looked at the man Jensen called Jared. He was still smiling, but still looked ill. "You're sure you're not ill?"

Jared nodded his head. "Positive." He smiled again and held his breath as she looked him up and down. He didn't want to explain why he was trembling and sweating, but if she refused him entry he'd have no option but to do so.

Rebecca smiled. "You're in luck; Eric's guardian is here and is feeding him, why don't you go in?" She indicated to a room across from the nurses' station.

Both men looked at the closed door and then smiled. "Thank you," Jensen placed his hand at the small of Jared's back and urged him forward. Jared stepped over and knocked at the door. When a woman's voice called out he opened the door and both of them stepped inside.

Melisa smiled as the two men entered the room. Eric was still in her arms but he was fast asleep. "Jared?" She asked and looked at the two men. She was surprised that it was the one who seemed almost afraid to be in the room stick up his hand.

"I'm Jared," Jared pointed to Jensen, "and this is my boyfriend Jensen."

"Please to meet you, I'm Melisa and as you know this is Eric." She stepped closer to Jared and was surprised when he held out his hands to take the baby from her.

"May I?" Jared asked and smiled as Melisa passed the sleeping child to him. "He looks better."

Melisa nodded her head. "The doctors say he's made a turn for the better. They want to keep him here in ICU for another day or two at the most." She looked down at her hands. "Thank you, Jared for saving him; he's the only family I have left."

"I'm..., we're, sorry about your sister." Jared managed to get the words out. He didn't make eye contact with Melisa but kept his gaze fixed on the small bundle in his arms. His words sounded empty to him.

"You got both of them out of there alive. It's not your fault that Sara died. I'm devastated that she has passed, but she wouldn't want to have lived if she survived and Eric died, she wouldn't have survived without him and it would've meant that I'd lost them both. Now at least I can see him grow up and I can tell him about his mom and about the hero that saved him." Melisa looked on as Jared rocked Eric with ease and she smiled as a pair of dimples appeared as Jared smiled. "You love children."

Jared nodded his head. "We both do," he looked over at Jensen. "You want to hold him?"

Jensen first looked at Melisa for permission and when she nodded her head he held out his hands and took the baby from Jared. "Hey, little one." Jensen greeted the baby softly and he smiled as Eric opened his eyes and gave him a huge yawn.

"That's unfair; you wake up for him, but not for me." Jared almost pouted.

The baby heard Jared's voice and turned his head until his eyes landed on Jared and then he stared. "Hello, Eric." Jared ran his finger along the side of Eric's face and grinned as the boy gurgled and smiled.

"He's so friendly." Jensen and Jared continued talking to the baby in soft monotones.

"He rarely cries and I have to say he likes the two of you." Melisa sat down on the rocking chair and watched as the two men continued to interact with the boy. "Would you mind if I stayed in touch with you?"

Jared turned at Melisa's words. "I wanted to ask if we could stay in touch with you, because we assumed that you won't be settling down here."

Melisa shook her head. "I've got a steady job and a house in Phoenix; I want to raise Eric there."

"We'd love to stay in touch, thank you." Jensen answered and then handed Eric to Jared. The baby couldn't keep his eyes off the larger man.

Jared smiled as he took Eric from Jensen's arms. "So, you're moving all the way to Arizona, you're becoming a Cardinal?" He shook his head. "That can't happen, you were born here, you'll be a Cowboy forever. We will make sure of it."

Melisa laughed. "It's a bit early to start him on NFL don't you think?"

Both men snorted. "It's never too early."

Eric reached out with his small hand and Jared gave him his finger and laughed as Eric pulled the offering to his mouth. "You hungry, little one?"

Melisa reached for a bottle. "He doesn't eat much at every feeding, but he loves eating a few times in a row, with some power naps in between." She handed Jared the bottle and looked on as Jared started to feed Eric with confidence. "You're a natural."

Jensen laughed. "He's an experienced uncle. Between the two of us we've got six nephews and four nieces."

Jared looked on as Eric sucked hard on the bottle. The little boy continued to stare at him but his eyes grew heavy and in between one suck and the next his eyes closed and he drifted back to sleep again. "Think he's out for the count again." He turned and handed Eric back to Melisa who started to rock him gently.

"You're right. He'll sleep for a while now." She looked at the two men. "Will they catch him?"

"Yes, they will. He can't hide forever and when they do he'll pay for what he has done." Jared was sure of that.

Melisa stood up, placed Eric in the hospital crib and turned to the two men. "Thank you." She hugged both of them hard and only when they left did she cry.


	4. ICE - In Case of Emergency

**Part 3**

**Two Weeks Later**

"Did you see that car?" Jensen asked as he pulled into the parking space at the mall.

"Which one?" Jared asked as he turned his body to look out of the back window.

"Don't worry, it's gone now." Jensen frowned. He could've sworn he'd seen the same car over and over again in the past few weeks.

"Something bothering you?" Jared asked as he got out of the Impala and saw Jensen still staring down the street.

Jensen shrugged his shoulders. "Nothing, I'm just imagining things."

"You never imagine things, what's going on?"

Jensen knew Jared would not let it drop. "I've been seeing the same dark sedan now for almost three weeks. Either when we're out in the ambulance or when I'm driving the Impala. I tried to get a look at the driver, but I never do."

Jared frowned. "What about a registration number?"

"Never get a chance to note it." Jensen pulled Jared closer. "Forget about it, let's concentrate on the fact that we've got a weekend off together for the first time in forever."

"Now that, I can't disagree about." Jared hugged Jensen hard before the two men made their way into the large shopping center. "At what time do we meet Danni for lunch?"

"At one, so that gives us about two hours just for ourselves." Jensen grinned. Both men hated shopping, except when they had the chance to shop for clothes. Danneel always complained, saying that they were worse than women when it came to shopping for clothes.

"You want to phone her and tell her to meet us at that new place that opened? I saw they had some nice bags, maybe she'll find something that she likes." Jared offered. He missed spending time with their friends and although none of the others like shopping, he knew Danneel would love some time with them, even if she moaned.

"Let's walk through a couple of stores on our own first, then I'll give her a call." Jensen compromised as he dragged Jared to the first shop. Soon both men were laughing and having a great time. Neither of them noticed the man that kept on following them from shop to shop.

"Shit," Jensen looked at his watch. "Danneel is going to kill us; we're supposed to have met her for lunch almost ten minutes ago."

Jared looked at his own watch. "Well, then we need to get going. Luckily we found something that she'll love." He held up the small bag labeled _Gucci_ with Danneel's favorite fragrance in it as they made their way out of the shop and headed down to where they had to meet up with their friend.

"Yes, well you better hope that's enough, you know how she hates being stood up." Jensen took the stairs two at a time.

"She's not stood up, we're fashionably late." Jared smiled and then gasped as a man pushed him to the side and launched himself at Jensen. "Jensen!" Jared yelled out in warning, but it was too late. The man threw himself at Jensen and started to assault him even as both men tumbled down the stairs.

"Shit!" Jared stormed down the stairs. He had no idea what to do. Jensen and the unknown man were tangled together, tumbling, rolling down the stairs. Jared could hear blows being traded, grunts and moans sounded out as they kept on rolling down. It felt like a lifetime before they crashed into the wall, but it was not even half a minute. Jared landed at the bottom mere seconds after them. The man was on top of Jensen and Jared growled as he pulled the man off from Jensen. He didn't even bother to check him for injuries but flung the man to the side, not bothering as he heard a bone snap when the man landed against the side wall. He wanted nothing than to rip the assailant apart, but he had no time to waste, he had to know how Jensen was doing.

"Jensen," Jared kneeled next to the fallen man and gently squeezed his shoulder. Jensen had a large gash over his left eye, blood streamed down his face. He had a split lip and by the way his right leg was angled Jared knew that the leg was broken as well. He had no idea if Jensen had any internal injuries. What bothered him was the fact that Jensen was unconscious. "Jensen," Jared called out again in an attempt to get Jensen to wake up. "Come on, love, open your eyes, show those green eyes of yours." He wiped the blood away from Jensen's forehead as he pulled his t-shirt over his head to press against the wound. He became aware of people around him and he looked up as a man ran down the stairs. He reached for his phone and tossed it to the man. "Call 911," he ordered and returned his attention to Jensen. Jared kept on trying to get Jensen to wake up and sighed when Jensen groaned and then gasped as he became aware of the pain.

"Keep still, you've got a nasty break on your right leg." Jared pressed Jensen down as the older man tried to move.

"Jay?" Jensen sounded confused. His whole body ached, but it felt as if his right leg was on fire. He tried to move, but Jared held him down.

"It's gonna be all right. Some lunatic attached you." Jared looked over his shoulder at the man lying in the corner. He could hear the man moaning and mumbling indistinctly. He was glad that someone was busy looking him over, he wasn't going to do it, not if the man wanted to stay alive.

"Paramedics are on their way." The man who Jared ordered to phone the emergency services spoke up.

Someone spoke next to them and Jensen frowned. He had no idea who it was. Jensen looked on as Jared took out his phone and spoke to someone. He had to blink a few times before his blurry vision cleared up. Jensen tried to bring his hand up to his throbbing head but Jared's hand found his and it was pulled back and Jared held tightly onto his hand, making it impossible for Jensen to check out his own head.

"Thanks." Jared took his phone and dialed Danneel's number. There was no way they were going to make lunch now and he knew that Jensen would have to go to the hospital. He squeezed Jensen's hand as his boyfriend tried to touch the bleeding wound to his head.

_"This better be good, Jared." Daneel's voice sounded over the phone._

"Jensen's been attacked. We're on the southern stairwell, second floor." Jared talked quickly, not wanting Danneel to start raving.

_"What?" Danneel sounded shocked. "I'm on my way. Is he all right, are you all right? Where's the bastard that did it, I'll kill him with my bare hands."_

Jared could hear that their friend was running. "He's got a broken leg and by the looks of it a concussion as well." He didn't bother to tell her that he was all right; she would see that for herself when she got there. Jared looked up as he heard someone talking about the police. "I got to go, see you soon." He ended the call, not giving Danneel the opportunity to respond.

Jared sighed as he saw the police walking through the crowd that gathered on the stairs and smiled as he recognized one of the officers who was a regular at Firewater. "Michael," he greeted and placed his hand on Jensen's shoulder as his boyfriend once again tried to move.

"Jared?" Michael sounded surprised. "What happened?" He looked around.

"That fucking bastard attacked Jensen," Jared growled.

Michael looked over at the man and indicated to his partner to go and have a look. He kneeled next to Jensen. "Jensen?"

Jensen looked up and then groaned as a dizzy spell made him want to hurl.

"Easy," Jared spoke up next to him and Jensen sighed as his boyfriend helped him to lean against him, making sure not to move him as he had no idea if Jensen suffered from any spinal or neck injuries.

"Do you know the man?" Michael asked Jared.

Jared shook his head. "I don't think Jensen does either, but he did say that he had noticed an unknown dark sedan vehicle for almost three weeks."

"I'll look into that." Michael winced as he looked at Jensen's broken leg. "Medics will be here soon."

Jensen didn't respond and Jared just nodded his head. He moaned as another wave of nausea swept over him. His leg was throbbing harder, but it was the pain in his head that made him want to get sick all over himself.

"Easy," Jared could see that Jensen was in pain and he hated that he could do nothing about it. He wanted to shout out for the paramedics to hurry up, but he knew they were on their way and since he worked with them he knew they were coming as fast as what they could.

"Jay," Jensen swallowed. "Fucking hurts."

"I know; I'm sorry, just try to breathe through it." Jared removed the shirt pressed against Jensen's head to see if the bleeding had stopped. It was still bleeding freely and although he didn't like it, he knew that head wounds tended to bleed profusely. "Can't believe he fucking attacked you," Jared growled again.

"Where is he?" Jensen tried to move so that he could see the man.

"Behind us," Jared indicated with his head but made no effort to move so that Jensen could get a better look. He could still hear the man mumbling about, he sounded aggressive. As Jared had no idea what other injuries Jensen might have suffered, he was not going to risk moving Jensen so that his boyfriend could get a better look at the lunatic.

Jensen snorted and then groaned he felt like shit. "Do we always take so long to arrive at a scene?"

Jared shook his head. "It's not even been five minutes, Jen. They'll be here soon."  
Jensen nodded and leaned back against Jared. "Fucking hurts."

A loud gasp at the top of the stairs had Jared looking up and he smiled as he saw Danneel making her way down. "Look who's here." Jared hoped that Danneel would help take Jensen's mind of the pain.

Danneel was shocked to see the state Jensen was in. She knelt next to him and took his hand in hers. "If you didn't want to do lunch with me, you could've said something. There's no need to go and throw yourself down the stairs." She shrugged, "maybe it's better down the stairs than off a building right?" She smiled and squeezed his hand. "I blamed Jared for my grey hair, but you just added a few more." She looked up at Jared and smiled softly. "You all right?"

Jensen didn't need words to communicate with his friend; instead he squeezed her hand and sighed in relief as she squeezed back.

Jared nodded his head. "I'm all right." He looked over his shoulder and smiled as he heard Danneel growl beside Jensen.

"Is that the person responsible?" She tried to move away, but Jensen held on tight.

"Yes," Jared replied. "He came running past me and just launched himself at Jensen. He didn't care that we were on the stairs or anything, he just kept on punching at him." Jared shivered.

"Bastard," Danneel growled again, but remained at Jensen's side. "Do you know him?"  
Jared shook his head. "No."

Danneel wanted to ask when a couple of people pushed the onlookers away and Jared sighed as he saw that it was Chad and their other medic Mark.

Chad stopped dead in his tracks as he realized who his patient was. "What the fuck?" He took the last stairs at a leap, landing mere inches away from where Jensen was half sitting, half lying in the corner. He didn't waste any time but started with his assessment. He was aware of the fact that Mark had moved over to the second patient, but he blocked that out and concentrated only on Jensen. "You've got a nasty concussion going there, Jen." Chad spoke up as he checked Jensen over. He made sure to place a C-collar around Jensen's neck and then steadily worked his way down after checking Jensen's pupil reaction and noted that it was sluggish. He asked Jensen a bunch of questions, nodded his head a few times and then settled in to check on Jensen's leg. "This is going to hurt." He cut the leg of Jensen's trousers off and gently prodded the area. Chad was happy to note that although the leg was swollen and bruised badly it was not a compound fracture. He pulled his bag closer and collected the items he needed to stabilize the leg for transport. He was almost done when a roar made his head snapped back and even before he could react a man barged down on Jensen and started to kick him viciously. Even as he tried to get to his feet to pull the man off, Jared was on his feet and had the man in a bear grip and pulled him clean off his feet and slammed him hard into the wall. Chad had to pin Jensen down as his friend and patient tried to get up and help Jared out. "Stay put," he warned and was happy to note that both Mark and Michael had stepped towards where Jared was pinning the maniac to the wall and was getting him under control.

"What the fuck is your problem?!" Jared snarled and slammed the man against the wall once again. "You're a crazy son of a bitch." He turned the man and grabbed him at the front of his shirt. "Why are you doing this, what did Jensen do to you?" Jared was aware that both Michael and Mark were trying to loosen the grip he had on the man, but he wasn't willing to let the bastard go until he told him what his problem was with Jensen.

The man snarled and then tried to spit on Jensen. "He's a fucking whore!"

Jared saw red and pulled back his fist to punch the guy's lights out when Michael stopped him. He shoved the man again. "What the hell do you mean, Jensen's no whore!"

"He is, he's been seeing my girlfriend for the past month and she keeps on telling me there's nothing between them! But I've seen his car; it's always parked in front of her apartment."

Jared was at a loss for words. "What car?"

"What?" The man frowned.

"What car is always parked in front of your girlfriend's apartment?"

"That black muscle car, the Impala, 1969 model." The man shook his head. "The car is here, I followed him, it's parked right outside."

Jared didn't know if he should laugh or just go ahead and punch the guy's lights out just because he could. "It's a 1967 model."

The man shook his head. "No, it's a 1969 model, I know my cars, and I heard him talking about it."

"Well not good enough asshole, I'm telling you it's a 1967 model and Jensen would not be hanging around your girlfriend, he's my boyfriend." Jared reigned himself in.

Once again the man shook his head and Jared wanted to scream out in frustration, but then Danneel pushed him aside and shoved her phone in the man's face. "Is this the car you're talking about?" She showed him a photo of Jensen's Impala.

"Yes, that's it." He pointed at the photo.

"Well that's a 1967 Impala, not a 1969 model." She took the phone, typed something real fast and showed him another photo. "Same car?"

"Yes!"

Danneel shook her head. "No, idiot. This is the 1969 model." She zoomed into the shot and pointed at the rear quarter window that differed, as well as the front bumper that was wrapped around the grille and the fact that the '69 model had horizontal taillights in the rear bumper that made the model look wider.

As Danneel explained and pointed out the differences the man calmed down and lowered his head. "It's not the same car."

Jared had the urge to slap him against the head, but smiled as Danneel punched the man hard on his bicep. "Idiot." She shook her head and stepped away and kneeled next to Jensen again.

Jensen frowned, he had no idea on what had transpired and he didn't even have a clue where to start asking questions. He smiled as Danneel leaned in and kissed him softly. "What are you doing here?" He frowned, "where are we?"

Danneel shook her head. "Definitely concussed." She managed to grab Jared's arm and pulled him down to Jensen. "Take care of your boyfriend and let the police deal with that asshole."

"Thanks, Danni." Jared smiled and turned his attention to Chad. "Can we get him out of here?" He could hear the man babbling at his back, apologizing profusely, but he shut him out. The police could deal with him, right now he just wanted to get Jensen out of here and get him to the hospital where he would have to work hard on not panicking, but he was not going to leave Jensen's side.

[ ](http://s792.photobucket.com/user/Dont_hate_me01/media/ICE3_zps90c3834e.png.html)

  
Jared shivered, but held it together as he made his way to Jensen's hospital room. He had managed to stay the night and had only left quickly this morning when he went home for a shower and to get something soft and comfortable for Jensen to wear.

Jensen was kept overnight for observation, Doctor Morgan felt that the concussion warranted some closer observation. He had suffered no neck or spinal injuries and the break in Jensen's leg was a clean one and was easily reduced and Jensen now sported a hilarious pink fiberglass cast. Apparently Orthopedics was out of blue. Jared still snickered as he thought of Jensen's first reaction when he saw the color. To say that his boyfriend was not impressed would've been the understatement of the year. Luckily he was pumped full of the good stuff and his aim was off, otherwise Jared would've had an interesting bruise had the bedpan found it's mark. Jared was still not sure for what he was more grateful, the fact that Jensen's aim was off, or the fact that the bedpan was unused.

Jared sighed as he entered the room and smiled. He had made it back into the hospital and into Jensen's room on his own. He couldn't help but feel proud of himself. He placed the bag next to the bed and looked up into Jensen's green eyes. "Hey, you're awake." He leaned in and kissed Jensen full on the lips. "How are you feeling?"

"My head aches, and the leg feels numb, but I'll survive." He smiled and pulled Jared in for another kiss. "You stayed the whole night?"

"I did; it's a wonder that you can remember, you were quite out of it." Jared picked up the self medicate pump and placed it in Jensen's hand. "Use this, it's the good stuff. It's still going to be a while before you're discharged."

Jensen looked at the pump and then at Jared. "In a while, I can still handle it." He placed the pump back on the sheet. "How're you holding up?"

Jared shrugged his shoulders. "I survived. I think the fact that I was so worried about you made me forget about everything else and in the end it made me get through the night." He beamed. "I even managed to get back into the hospital without panicking." He decided not to mention what he thought of, not wanting Jensen to get upset about the cast again.

"You did good." Jensen smiled at his partner and then yawned. "I hate hospitals. Why they have to prod at you when you're trying to sleep will always be a mystery to me."

"I can't tell you either." He looked at the time. "Jim said he would come by this morning. He wants to get your statement about the _douche bag_ from yesterday."

"It's going to be a very short statement, I can't remember much." Jensen rubbed at the gauze that covered the mark on his forehead where he received five stitches.

"Unfortunately I can remember everything." Jared shuddered as he remembered Jensen lying at the bottom of the stairs, blood running down the side of his head, his body still, no movement at all.

"Hey, look at me." Jensen took Jared's hand in his. "I'm fine."

"You could've died and all because that idiot doesn't know the difference between a '67 and '69 model Impala.”

"As I understand, it was an honest mistake."

"An honest mistake?" Jared snorted. "He fucking tried to kill you. No wonder his girlfriend cheated on him, he's an asshole."

Jensen knew it would not be wise to argue with Jared on that point and he was saved from any further comment by a knock on the door. He looked up and smiled as Chad, Chris and Steve entered the room. "Come in, guys."

"You and Jay taking turns in loafing, Jen?" Chris asked as he stepped up to the bed and hugged Jensen hard.

"It's the only way we get to spend time together." Jared answered as he greeted the other two men as well.

Chad laughed. "Nice color, Jenny."

"Fuck off, Chaddy." Jensen barked back but then smiled as he saw his other friends smiling as well. "What can I say, only some of us can pull it off."

Steve snorted. "And you're so not one of them. That color really doesn't suit you."

"Go to hell, Steve." Jensen laughed hard and then groaned as his head reminded him that he was still suffering the consequences of a concussion.

"You okay?" Jared asked in concern.

"Yeah, just my head." Jensen picked up the pump and pressed the plunger down. He knew it was time to seek some relief.

"That gonna make you loopy, gonna make you lose your aim?" Chris grinned. He had spoken to Jared the previous night and knew what Jensen had tried to do.

Jensen frowned. He had no idea what Chris was talking about, already the pain medication travelled through his body and the pain tendrils loosened up. He sighed and closed his eyes. He knew none of his friends would mind him dozing off. He just had to remember to ask Jared about what Chris meant by his aim being off.

"It's the good stuff indeed." Chad smiled as Jensen's eyes closed and his friend drifted off to sleep. "When will he be discharged?"

"Later this afternoon or early this evening. Jeff wants to make sure he's recovered enough from the concussion before releasing him." Jared explained.

"You'll call if you need any help getting him home?" Steve asked.

Jared nodded. "I'll do that, but I don't think it would be too difficult."

Chad looked at Jared. "You're extremely calm."

"I don't have a choice. Jensen needs me, but I think I'll panic later when we're home, and it sinks in that I managed to stay here all night, went out and came back all on my own."

"You really did well, Jay."

The three friends said their goodbyes and Jared took his spot next to Jensen's bed. He knew Jensen would be sleeping for at least the next two hours as he settled in to wait patiently.

[ ](http://s792.photobucket.com/user/Dont_hate_me01/media/ICE2_zpsc78779ed.png.html)

  
Jensen sighed as he leaned back, the pillows stacked high enough to support his back and not to put any pressure on his leg. He also had a few pillows stacked under his broken leg to make sure he was laying comfortable.

"Good to be home?" Jared asked as he passed the glass of cold water that Jensen asked for.

"Extremely," Jensen took the offered water and drank deeply.

Jared lowered himself carefully next to Jensen on the bed. "You feeling all right, any pain?"

Jensen shook his head. "A bit tired, but no pain. Think I'm still a bit high on the good stuff."

"It's possible." Jared shrugged his shoulders. "Can I get you something to eat?"

"No, I'm good, thanks." Jensen sighed. "I've decided not to press charges against Graham."

Jared rolled his eyes. They learned that the asshole that attacked Jensen's name was Graham and it came to their attention that Graham's girlfriend liked the jealous streak Graham had shown on a previous occasion and decided that she'd like to see it again. She didn't take into account exactly just how jealous her boyfriend could be, especially since she made arrangements that a co-worker park his car at her apartment and then made as if she was seeing someone while at the same time she denied seeing anyone. Needles to say after all of this came to light, Graham ended their relationship and he did come by before Jensen was released from hospital and did apologize about what had happened. "It's your decision."

"I know you feel I should proceed, but I feel sorry for the guy." Jensen tried to explain his position.

"It's not that I want him to have a criminal record, but he needs to do something about that temper of his, because something like this could happen again and he could kill someone." Jared replied.

Jensen smiled. "I told him to get some help. He showed me a business card. His lawyer advised him to do the same thing. He's already gotten a number of a support group and as far as I can recall his first meeting is either tomorrow or the day after."

Jared smiled back. "Then you don't have to proceed with the charges, but he needs to understand something. If he comes near you again I will personally tear him apart limb for limb."

"I don't think we'll see him again. You've busted his wrist good."

"He fell against the wall and that's the version I'm sticking too." Jared leaned closer. "Enough about Graham and his girlfriend. I missed my boyfriend." He kissed Jensen softly and turned his body so that they were even closer. Jared moaned as Jensen pulled his hair making him gasp and letting Jensen plunder his mouth. The kiss went on and on, both men only pulling back only when the need for oxygen became too urgent.

"Want more," Jensen breathed against Jared's mouth and placed some lazy kisses on Jared's face, covering his eyes and nose.

"Can't," Jared moaned. "Jeff made it clear, no excessive exercise."

Jensen snorted, "don't think he meant sex."

"He included sex. Trust me." Jared sighed, "but, he didn't say anything about any other extra activities." He snickered as he let his hand travel down Jensen's body, dipping his fingers beneath Jensen's waistband to where Jensen's erection was nestled.

Jensen moaned at the touch and leaned closer to catch Jared's mouth in another hard kiss. "Want to touch you as well."

Jared nodded and helped move Jensen so that both men were lying on their sides, but so that Jensen's leg was still supported adequately. He sighed as Jensen's hands travelled over his body. Soon both men were touching and caressing one another; moans and grunts filled the air. Jared managed to rid himself and Jensen's clothes somewhere in between making out and as their fingers and tongues kissed naked skin they brought one another to completion, their seed spilling between them as ecstasy filled the room.

Jensen sighed as he came down from his orgasm induced high and turned to face Jared. "Don't know about you, but I can get used to this."

"Mm, sounds good to me." He looked down at the mess they made and grinned. "Need to clean us up, don't want this to dry." Jared kissed Jensen again before he got up and collected a washcloth to clean them both up. When Jensen shivered after he cleaned him up, he tossed the cloth to the side, pulled the comforter from the foot end of the bed and got in beside Jensen. "Time for a nap I believe."

Jensen grinned. "Another good idea." He snuggled close and soon both men drifted off to sleep.


	5. ICE - In Case of Emergency

**Epilogue**

**Five Months Later**

"Did you see this?" Jared indicated the newspaper that he was reading. Their conflicting schedules were something of the past and they now had the well deserved time to spend together.

Jensen shook his head as he took a bite of his bagel. "What's it about?" He managed to ask before he swallowed his food.

"They caught that bastard, Frankie Roberts." Jared explained. "They received an anonymous tip and tracked him down to an old abandoned warehouse. They took him into custody and they're charging him with a lot of things, including child endangerment." Jared noticed that the newspaper didn't mention a charge of murder, but he'd spoken to the DA on a number of times while they were still looking for Roberts and the DA was looking at that possibility, saying that when the bastard locked Sara and Eric inside the apartment with no way out, he must've foreseen that something could happen and he accepted it and did nothing. Jared could only hope that it would go through and that the jury would convict him. It would send him to prison for the rest of his life. He snickered as he read the next part. "Apparently he got stuck in an old air duct and had to be rescued. He was treated for dehydration and apparently some bruises."

"I can guess where the bruises came from, especially when it was realized who they had picked up." Jensen took another bite. He was glad to hear that they found the bastard. He knew Chad and especially Jared still looked for the guy when they were out on scenes. He became aware that Jared had become quiet.

"What are you thinking about, Jay?" Jensen stood up and placed his arm around Jared's shoulders.

"I'm thinking about that bastard and about Eric. I wonder how he's doing."

"Well, then I think you'll love this." Jensen pulled an envelope out of his pocket. "It arrived last night."

Jared took the envelope and smiled. He'd recognized the handwriting anywhere. It was from Melisa. She normally sent them emails, but sometimes she would sent them letters in the post as well. They had kept their promises and stayed in touch with one another, and she made sure to keep Jared and Jensen up to date on how Eric was doing, including sending them photos every month on how big and how cute Eric had become.

"He looks happy." Jared looked at the now one year old boy who sat and with a puppy next to him, smiling from ear to ear. The caption Melisa wrote said _My first pup, he's name is Cowboy,_ with the date next to it.

"He is happy, Jared. You made sure of it. You didn't give up on him and you saved his life." Jensen pulled Jared to his feet and kissed him softly. "You're his hero, but you're also my hero." He grinned as Jared rolled his eyes.

"You're my hero as well." Jared pressed against Jensen, and kissed him back. "Let me show you just how much." Jared pulled Jensen after him as they moved towards the bedroom. He closed the door behind him and slowly started to undress Jensen while they continued kissing. Soon both men were naked and stroking one another as they lay side by side on their bed.

Jensen kissed his lover hard and turned their bodies so that the younger man was beneath him. "Want to make love to you, want to show you just how much I do love you."

Jared smiled softly and pulled Jensen down. "Then show me."

Both men fell silent, only communicating in soft whispers and sounds of pleasure as they took one another higher and higher in the arms of passion and love, only coming down from their natural high when they were both filled completely. They remained in each other's arms, both slipping into a satisfied sleep, knowing that they loved one another and that they'd be each other's hero for many years to come.

**The End**


End file.
